Resilient hinge connection and CD holder box or photograph frame utilizing the same

ABSTRACT

A hinge connection including a male member applied on a base plate. The male member has protrusions provided to be hingedly and resiliently fitted between a pair of female members applied on a further base plate. The male member is formed by two parallel male legs. Each leg includes one of the protrusions and each of the female members includes a through hole for engaging one of the protrusions.

This is a National Stage of International Application No.PCT/BE98/00001, filed Jan. 6, 1998, which claims the benefit of BelgianApplication No. 09700006, filed Jan 6, 1997.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hinge connection comprising a malemember applied on a base plate, said male member having protrusionsprovided to be hingedly and resiliently fitted between a pair of femalemembers applied on a further base plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such a hinge connection is known from FR-A-2 534 484 to Bersani whereinsaid male and female members are provided on construction elements. Boththe male and female members are formed by cylindrical projections,wherein the male members comprise protrusions, fitting in correspondingexcavations provided in the female members, or vice versa. The male andfemale members are thus plain cylinders with protrusions or excavationsand are thus relatively thick. This thickness ensures a good stabilityof the hinge connection. Such a thickness is however inconvenient formanufacturing purposes, since upon moulding such a hinge connection,considerable cooling times are required for cooling the male and femalemembers.

The problem of the invention is to provide a hinge connection having areduced cooling time upon moulding but which still ensures a goodstability of the connection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This problem is solved by the hinge connection according to theinvention which is characterised in that said male member is formed bytwo parallel male legs, wherein each leg comprises one of saidprotrusions, and that each of said female members comprises a throughhole for engaging one of said protrusions.

The hinge connection is ensured by connecting the male legs withprotrusions between the female members having through holes. Theparticular construction of the male and female members, i.e. two malelegs and two female members having through holes, enables one to keepthe thickness of the elements forming the hinge connection limited sothat the cooling time may be kept relatively short.

In a first preferred embodiment of the hinge connection according to theinvention, each of said female members is formed by two parallel femalelegs connected by an intermediary piece. Preferably, said intermediarypieces are mounted offset from said further base plate. This enables tofurther reduce the thickness of the female members and consequently tofurther reduce the cooling time upon moulding and still ensure thestability of the connection.

In order to improve the hinge movement of the hinge connection accordingto the invention, said intermediary pieces are cylindrical pieces andsaid through holes and protrusions are cylindrical. In addition or as analternative, said male and female members are provided with rounded freeends.

Preferably, said legs comprise rounded borders. This facilitates theengagement or removal of the hinge connection.

For enabling one to use the hinge connection according to the inventionfor connecting relatively large plates, said legs comprise an enlargesbase applied on said base plate, and respectively on said further baseplate.

For enabling to use the hinge connection according to the invention forconnecting relatively large plates, said legs comprise an enlarged baseapplied on said base plate, respectively further base plate.

The hinge connection according to the invention may further comprise alocking member for locking the connection of said male member to saidfemale member, wherein said locking member comprises a locking legprovided to be placed between said male legs and a release leg extendingessentially perpendicularly to said locking leg. This particularconstruction of locking member can easily be inserted manually betweenthe male legs and removed by gripping the release leg with a pair ofpincers.

The hinge connection according to the invention may further form aconstruction element comprising at least one base plate with at leastone male member and at least one further base plate with at least onefemale member. This construction element may be used as a toy andenables one to create complex structures wherein planning and use ofimagination is required. This contributes to the development of a childplaying with those construction elements.

In particular, the construction element comprises at least three baseplates forming a closed area, wherein said base plates are connected bya connection plate extending in a plane perpendicular to said baseplates. This connection plate enhances the strength of the constructionelement and also enables one to form a container for receiving all kindsof objects or goods, for example sweets. The formed container may alsobe used as packaging.

In particular, the construction element comprises at least three baseplates forming a closed area, wherein said base plates are connected bya connection plate extending in a plane perpendicular to said baseplates. This connection plate enhances the strength of the constructionelement and enables also to form a container for receiving all kinds ofobjects or goods, for example sweets. The formed container may also beused as packaging.

A preferred embodiment of the construction element according to theinvention comprises two parallel base plates and two further parallelbase plates forming together a square, wherein the two base plates eachcomprise said male legs applied symmetrically with respect to the middleof the base plate and wherein the two further base plates each comprisesaid pair of female members, each female member of said pair extendingat an extremity of the further base plate in such a manner that one ofsaid female legs extends in prolongation from an extremity of one ofsaid base plates. Preferably, the distance between the female legs isequal to L, the distance between the male legs is equal to L, the heightof the legs is equal to L, the length of the base plates is equal to 3Land the height of the base plates is equal to L. This enhances thepossibilities of forming complex structures by using several of suchconstruction elements, since two construction elements of this type maybe connected in four different ways to each other and each hingeconnection provides a full 180 degrees positioning.

The present invention further relates to a tool provided fordisconnecting a connection of a female from a male member, wherein saidtool comprises two spaced apart lever legs, each lever leg beingprovided for being positioned between said two female legs for tiltingsaid female member out of said male member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described further in detail referring to theannexed drawings. In the drawings, a same reference numeral has beenattributed to a same or similar feature.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first preferred embodiment of the hingeconnection according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a first preferred embodiment of a constructionelement with the male and female members according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second preferred embodiment of a constructionelement with the male and female members according to the invention.

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along lines IV—IV from FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a section view taken along lines V—V from FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a pyramidal element with a squared basefitting in the construction element of FIGS. 3 to 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing two construction elements accordingto FIGS. 3 to 5 into which pyramidal elements according to FIG. 6 arefitted.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a hinge connection having male and femalemembers according to FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 9 is a side view of another embodiment of a hinge connection,wherein the axis of the hinge is at a greater distance from its base andwherein the male and female legs comprise an enlarged base for stabilitypurposes.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the female members according to FIG.9.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate a locking member, provided for locking theconnection of the male member with the female member of the hingeconnection according to the invention.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of a hinge connection according to theinvention with the locking member of FIGS. 11 and 12.

FIG. 14 illustrates a linking member for connecting intermediary piecesfrom two female members.

FIG. 15 shows an application of the male and female members in a CDholder box.

FIG. 16 shows an application of the male and female members in aphotograph frame.

FIG. 17 is a partial cross section according to lines XVII—XVII in FIG.16.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a container with male and femalemembers according to the invention.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of a frame having hinge connections according tothe invention.

FIGS. 20 and 21 shows a first preferred embodiment of a tool providedfor disengaging the hinge connection according to the invention.

FIG. 22 shows a second preferred embodiment of the tool.

FIG. 23 shows another embodiment of a linking member according to theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the hingeconnection according to the invention. A male member formed by twoparallel male legs 1 is applied on a base plate 2. Each of the male legs1 comprise a protrusion 3. The hinge connection further comprises a pairof female members 4 applied on a further base plate 5, between which themale legs 1 with protrusions 3 may be hingedly and resiliently fitted.

According to the invention, each of the female members 4 comprise athrough hole 6 for engaging one of the protrusions 3. By providing amale member having two legs and a pair of female members with a throughhole, the thickness of the elements forming the hinge connection may bekept limited, so that upon moulding such a hinged connection, “hotspots” or amassment of material are avoided. Consequently, the coolingtime of such a hinge connection may be relatively short. Providing athrough hole 6 in the female members may easily be achieved uponmoulding by inserting a rod having the same cross sectional shape as thehole to be applied. For moulding the hinge connection according to theinvention, use is made of a plastic material, for example polypropyleneor ABS.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the female members, wherein eachof the female members is formed by two parallel female legs 7 connectedby an intermediary piece 8, wherein the intermediary piece is mountedoffset from said further base plate, as indicated by arrow 9 (FIG. 1).According to an alternative, each of the female members may be formed byone piece; in this case however, the through hole, instead of beingcylindrical according to the shape of the intermediary piece, shouldhave a shape corresponding to the shape of the female members, inparticular a longitudinally extended shape with a rounded end (in crosssection), in order to avoid “hot spots”. This particular shapecorresponds to the shape of the female legs illustrated in FIG. 4.

It should be noted that preference is given to rounded shape of the maleand female members, as for example illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5,enhancing in this way the hinge movement of the hinge connection. Theconnection of the elements is facilitated by providing legs with roundedfree ends as for example clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. 2 illustrates a first preferred embodiment of a constructionelement according to the invention, comprising a base plate 2 and afurther base plate 5 with male and female members as describedhereinabove. This construction element may be for example used in asquare plate wherein each corner of the plate is provided with such aconstruction element. In this way, different square plates, having thesame dimension and provided with the construction elements according toFIG. 2, may be hingedly fixed together for forming complex structures.

FIG. 19 shows an alternative of FIG. 2, wherein only one male leg of themale member is applied on the base plate and only one of the pair offemale members is applied on the further base plate. Providing suchconstruction elements on a square plate enables also to form complexstructures, wherein two male legs on one side of the square may behingedly fitted between two female members, wherein each female memberis located at a corner of the plate.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 to 5, there is shown a second preferredembodiment of the construction element according to the invention.According to this embodiment, there are two parallel base plates 2 withmale legs 1 and two further parallel base plates 5 with female members4. The base plates 2 and 5 are linked together in such a manner to forma square. As shown in FIG. 3, the male legs 1 are applied symmetricallywith respect to the middle of the base plate 2 and each female member 4extends at an extremity of the further base plate in such a manner thatone of the female legs 7 extends in prolongation from an extremity ofone of said base plates.

As can be clearly deduced from FIGS. 3 to 5, two construction elementsmay be assembled by hingedly fitting the male legs from one constructionelement between the female members of another construction element,wherein the hinged connection may be rotated over 180°, forming an anglebetween 90 and 270 degrees with respect to each other. 90 and 270degrees form two stop positions (one of which is shown in FIG. 20),since the female legs 7 from one construction element comes into contactwith a base plate of the other construction element. When a pressure isapplied beyond those stop positions, the hinge connection is disengaged.

Besides the advantage of avoiding “hot spots” upon manufacturing,gaining time and material, the through hole offer additionalconstruction possibilities, i.e. when assembling several constructionelements, male legs may be fitted at both sides of the through hole. Inparticular, upon assembling construction elements in one plane in such amanner that a first construction element is fitted between female memberof a second construction element, and one of the male members of thesecond construction element is fitted between female members of a thirdconstruction element, then one of the female members of the firstconstruction element will be spaced off with a distance L from one ofthe female members of the third construction element, so that a malemember of a fourth construction element may be fitted between the lattertwo female members. These additional construction possibilities maycontribute to the stability and diversity of the formed structure. Thethrough holes also offer the possibility to receive a number ofaccessories, for example carrying an axle for forming a car or holding astring for forming a necklace. The through holes also offer thepossibility to disengage construction elements from each other byinserting a lever such as a pen.

It is also possible to assemble female members from differentconstruction elements with each other by providing a pin through thethrough holes.

The construction element according to FIGS. 3 to 5 has preferably thefollowing dimensions: distance between the female legs L, distancebetween the male legs L, height of the legs L, length of the base plates2 and 5 equal to 3L and height of the base plates 2 and 5 equal to L.Consequently, an imaginary square 10 is formed with sides having alength equal to 5L. Thus, the construction element is designed in such away—male and female members have all the same length, width andheight—that the hinges are not only provided for interlocking differentelements, but are also such that, when construction elements areengaged, the edges of the legs are touching, leaning and resting on thebase plate of the other element. Thus a structure can be given greatstability and a great vertical resistance to pressure.

Preferably the base plates 2 and 5 are connected by a connection plate11 extending perpendicularly to the base plates 2 and 5, enhancing thestrength of the construction element. In this way, a container is alsoformed. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the height of theconstruction element (shown in FIG. 4) is also equal to L. It is alsoconceivable to form containers with a larger height in order to increasethe volume of the container. FIG. 18 shows a possible embodiment,wherein the bottom portion 28 of the container is dimensioned in orderto fit within a construction element of FIG. 3 and wherein assembledwithin that construction element, the height is equal to 5L so as tocorrespond with the length of the sides of the imaginary square of FIG.3. In this way, the container forms an imaginary cube with sides equalto 5L and is compatible with the construction elements of FIGS. 3 to 5and may therefore be used in connection therewith to form complexstructures. The container of FIG. 18 further comprises a cap 27 in orderto form a closed object. Such a container may be used for containingobjects, goods or liquids. A container can also be formed with aseparate conditioned element 36. In other words, the container of FIG.18 comprises one element 36 in the form of a cube with the hingeconnection. According to an alternative, the element 36 is separatedinto an element with the hinges and a separate element which may be inanother material, for example cardboard.

The element of FIGS. 3 to 5 can also receive cardboard elementscomprising numbers, letters or images.

The construction element according to the invention may also be used asa cap for a container, for example for a bottle. In this case, athreaded closure element should be provided in the element of FIGS. 3 to5.

For the same compatibility reasons as explained hereinabove, the squareplate used in connection with the construction elements of FIG. 2 shouldpreferably have sides with a length for example equal to 11L, so thatthree elements of FIG. 3 to 5 linked together may be hingedly fitted tothe formed construction with the square plate.

By using a number of construction elements according to FIGS. 3 to 5, itis possible to form a hollow elongated bar. In order to reinforce thestructure, a beam may be fitted into the hollow area for supporting theformed object. FIGS. 6 and 7 show another way to reinforce the structureof the construction elements. A pyramidal element 12 comprises a squaredbase 13 fitting within the square formed by the base plates 2 andfurther base plates 5. The height H is essentially equal to ½ of thelength of the base plate 2, which is thus equal to 1.5L. The reason whythe pyramidal element 12 should have this height will be clear from FIG.7, showing two construction elements each having a pyramidal element 12fitted thereon. With six construction elements and six pyramidalelements, a closed cube can be formed.

The hinge connection according to the invention may be used for hingedlyconnecting plates to each other, such as illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10.According to the embodiment of FIG. 8, the width of the base plate 2determines the maximum thickness of one of the plates 15. The embodimentaccording to FIGS. 9 and 10 enables one to increase this maximumthickness by enlarging the distance of the axis from the hinge from thebase plate. This enlarged distance now determines the maximum thicknessof one of the plates 15. In FIGS. 9 and 10, the male and female legs 1and 7 comprise an enlarged base 14 for ensuring stability of the hingeconnection. The female legs are connected by a plate 35 for furtherstability. As can be deduced from FIGS. 8 and 9, plate 15 is two timesthicker in FIG. 9 than in FIG. 8, since the width of the enlarged base14 is two times the width of the base plate 2. As illustrated in FIG. 9,the hinge connection is for example fixed to the plate by means ofscrews 16.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, there is shown a locking member 17according to the invention. This locking member comprises a locking leg18 provided to be placed between the male legs 1, as shown in FIG. 13. Arelease leg 19 extends perpendicularly to the locking leg 18 and isprovided to be gripped by a pair of pincers for facilitating release ofthe locking member. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 there is provided arelease leg at both sides of the locking leg. According to analternative, there is provided only one release leg at only one side ofthe locking leg.

FIG. 13 further shows another embodiment of the hinge connectionaccording to the invention, wherein the base and further base plates 2and 5 have a stepped shape, so that different base plates 2 and 5 may beconnected adjacent each other by means of screws (not shown) forexample. A washer 31 may be provided for the hinge connection at one ofthe extremities.

In order to enable to connect the intermediary pieces of the femalemembers, there is provided a linking member 20 as illustrated in FIG.14. The linking member comprises two C shaped curved legs 21 attached toeach other. FIG. 23 shows another embodiment of a linking member 20having the shape of two male members attached to each other. Thislinking member is provided for being positioned between a pairs offemale members from a first element and a pair of female members fromanother element. A combination of FIGS. 14 and 23 is also conceivable,comprising one C shaped curved leg and one male member attached to eachother.

The male and female members according to the invention may further beused in a CD holder box 22 as shown in FIG. 15. Two opposite side of theeach comprise two pairs of female members at their extremities whereasthe other opposite sides comprise notches 23 for receiving releasablemale member 24. In FIG. 15, only one releasable male member 24 has beenshown in two positions, i.e. the mounted position and a storageposition. It will be understood that a CD box contains four releasablemale members.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show another application of the male and female membersaccording to the invention forming a frame 25 for a photograph. Such asin the embodiment of FIGS. 3 to 5, the construction element comprisesbase plates 2 and 5 connected to each other to form a closed object. Thebase plates are further connected by a connection plate 11. In order toprotect a photograph from dust, a cover 26 of transparent material, forexample polystyrene, is provided as illustrated in FIG. 17. The cover 26is formed by a plate 32 with edges 33. In the position shown in FIG. 17,the plate is in contact with the photograph in order to protect it fromdust. In another position, wherein the edges 33 are in contact with theconnection plate 11, a closed area is formed which may be used forholding objects. FIG. 16 shows that the frame is held in a verticalposition by connecting it to a support member 34 comprisingcorresponding male and female members. The support member may also beformed by connecting two construction elements of FIGS. 3 to 5 to oneanother.

FIGS. 20 to 22 show two embodiments of a tool 29 in connection with theconstruction elements of FIGS. 3 to 5. The tool 29 comprises two spacedapart lever legs. Each lever leg is provided for being positionedbetween two female legs of a female member for tilting said femalemember out of said male member, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 22 by thearrows. If the tool comprises a curved free end 30 as shown in FIGS. 20and 21, the female member can also be pulled out of the male member, asindicated by the arrow in FIG. 21.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hinge connection comprising: a base plate; amale member applied on said base plate, a further base plate; a pair offemale members applied on said further base plate; said male memberhaving protrusions provided to be hingedly and resiliently fittedbetween said pair of female members; said male member being formed bytwo parallel male legs with an open space between the male legs, eachleg comprising one of said protrusions; each of said female memberscomprising a through hole for engaging one of said protrusions; and eachof said female members being formed by two parallel female legsconnected by an intermediary piece mounted offset from said further baseplate; and said through hole extends through said female legs and saidintermediary piece.
 2. The hinge connection according to claim 1,wherein said intermediary pieces are cylindrical pieces and said throughholes and protrusions are cylindrical.
 3. The hinge connection accordingto claim 1, wherein said male and female members are provided withrounded free ends.
 4. The hinge connection according to claim 1, whereinsaid male and female legs comprise rounded borders.
 5. The hingeconnection according to claim 1, wherein said female legs comprise abase enlarged with respect to said base plate.
 6. The hinge connectionaccording to claim 1, further comprising a locking member for lockingthe connection of said male member to said female member, wherein saidlocking member comprises a locking leg provided to be placed betweensaid male legs and a release leg extending essentially perpendicularlyto said locking leg.
 7. The hinge connection according to claim 1,further comprising a linking member for connecting a first female memberwith a second female member.
 8. A construction element comprising atleast one base plate with at least one male member, at least one furtherbase plate with a first pair of female members, the distance betweensaid female members being substantially equal to the width of said malemember, said male member having protrusions provided to be hingedly andresiliently fitted between a second pair of female members of a secondconstruction element, said first pair of female members being providedto hingedly and resiliently engage a third male member of a thirdconstruction element, said first male member being formed by twoparallel male legs with an open space between the male legs, each legcomprising one of said protrusions, each of said first pair of femalemembers being formed by two parallel female legs connected by anintermediary piece which is mounted offset from said further base plate,and each of said first pair of female members comprises a through holewhich extends through said female legs and said intermediary piece. 9.The construction element according to claim 8, comprising at least threebase plates forming a closed area, wherein said base plates areconnected by a connection plate extending in a plane perpendicular tosaid base plates.
 10. The construction element according to claim 8,comprising two parallel base plates and two further parallel base platesforming together a square, wherein the two base plates each comprisesaid male legs applied symmetrically with respect to the middle of thebase plate and wherein the two further base plates each comprise saidfirst pair of female members, each female member of said first pairextending at an extremity of the further base plate in such a mannerthat one of said female legs extends in prolongation from an extremityof one of said base plates.
 11. The construction element according toclaim 10, wherein the female legs are spaced from each other with adistance equal to L, the male legs with a distance equal to L, the legshaving a height equal to L, the base plates having a length equal to 3Land the base plates having a height equal to L.
 12. The constructionelement according to claim 10, further comprising a pyramidal memberhaving a squared base fitting in said square and a height essentiallyequal to ½ of the length of the base plates.
 13. A CD holder boxcomprising said female and male members according to claim
 1. 14. Aphotograph frame comprising said female and male members according toclaim 1, the photograph frame further comprising a cover of transparentmaterial provided for protecting the photograph from dust.